Chapter 124: Reverse Summoning Technique, The Tormented Third
"Sizzle!"
As Li Yao slashed down again, the entire world fell silent. The beautiful Sarutobi Ayase, who had been screaming at Li Yao, now looked dazed with her mouth slightly open, utterly unable to speak.
No words could express the fury in her heart.
Or rather, since her husband became a "human stick," only one thought remained in her mind—
To live.
To seek revenge.
Nothing else mattered.
"Next, I'll find an island to leave these two on."
After casually healing the broken limbs of Sarutobi Tenchu and feeding him a soldier pill to keep him alive, Li Yao jumped out of the Black Iron Giant Eagle's belly, stood on its back, and flew toward nearby islands to search.
Meanwhile...
Konoha.
In the Sarutobi estate's backyard, Enma appeared again, holding the summoning contract scroll of their clan.
"Enma, I checked. Tenchu and Ayase's names are still on the scroll. They're alive."
Enma smiled as he flipped the scroll and spoke to the Third Hokage, who had teleported beside him.
The Third opened the scroll and, seeing his son and daughter-in-law's names still present, breathed a sigh of relief.
Their names hadn't vanished, so their lives remained.
But why hadn't they sent any intel?
The Third's brow furrowed deeper, the unease in his eyes worsening despite knowing they were alive.
"Could they have been captured?"
This thought only intensified the Third's anxiety.
"Don't worry, Tenchu and Ayase are probably delayed for some reason."
Compared to the Third's concern, Enma was confident in the couple's strength, especially since Ayase could fly using the secret Super Beast Imitating Drawing and had ultra-long-range sensory ninjutsu. Few could approach them in the air.
Anyone capable of killing them couldn't get close.
Anyone who could get close wasn't stronger than them.
"Let's hope so!"
The Third sighed, prioritizing the mission and suppressing his desire to use the Reverse Summoning Technique to bring them back.
"Lord Hokage, urgent border report."
At that moment, a member of the ANBU Hokage guard rushed over with an intelligence scroll.
The Third's eyes narrowed instantly, sensing a serious situation at the border. He took the scroll and opened it.
"What?!"
Reading the report, the Third couldn't help but shout, his face darkening completely.
That bastard Third Raikage had just sent a delegation to form an alliance—supposedly peaceful but actually to seize Shinju-na.
And not long after, that same Third Raikage personally led a sneak attack on the northern border troops.
The defending ninja were no match for the Raikage's lightning chakra armor mode.
The Hokage's advisor leading the border troops barely escaped death, saved only by ten jōnin and a hundred chūnin fighting desperately. Without them, Mito Uzumaki would have been dead.
Though not dead, Mito reorganized ninja forces and delayed Kumogakure's advance.
But the border forces suffered heavy losses—an undeniable fact.
They needed reinforcements, at least one strong enough to hold back the Third Raikage.
Otherwise, the border troops could only resist with countless lives—and for how long?
Mito named the Third Hokage personally in the report, urging him to go immediately.
Now, in the ninja world, only the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the Hero of the Shinobi World, could stop the Third Raikage.
No one else was quite strong enough.
"Damn that Third Raikage! Why did he suddenly enter the battle? Tenchu said he was still..."
The Third's expression suddenly changed drastically.
He immediately told Enma, "Enma, quickly! Use Reverse Summoning Technique to bring Tenchu and Ayase back!"
"Understood." Enma nodded. Though he didn't know why the Third had changed his mind, he trusted him. The expression on the Third's face showed something unexpected had happened.
"Summoning Technique!"
Enma bit his finger, placed his hands on the ground, and two black summoning seals appeared beneath him.
Then—boom boom!—two explosive sounds rang out simultaneously.
As the smoke cleared, a human stick and a completely naked, radiantly beautiful woman appeared on the ground.
"Tenchu!!!"
The Third didn't even glance at his daughter-in-law. He instantly teleported next to the human-stick Tenchu, crouching as if to pick him up—but froze, unsure how to hold him, standing there awkwardly.
"Tenchu..." Enma's expression darkened as he looked at the human-stick before him.
He felt uneasy—a self-deceptive mistake in judgment.
Clang!
The Third's ANBU guards glanced briefly and quickly lowered their heads, afraid to look up.
"Li... Yao!!!"
A few seconds later, the Third roared, his aura exploding fiercely.
His rage swept through the Sarutobi estate like a heavy hammer, striking everyone's hearts and causing dull pain in their chests.
"Li Yao!!!"
The Third's bloodshot eyes cracked like fragile porcelain, threatening to shatter any moment.
Pain!
So much pain!
Hatred!
Hatred to the bone!
Regret!
So much regret!
He should have gotten rid of Li Yao sooner.
He should have used the Reverse Summoning Technique earlier.
The Third regretted not acting on his unease sooner.
Maybe he could have saved his son.
If it weren't for the border report about the Raikage's personal raid, he might have believed his son and daughter-in-law were safe.
Or believed Li Yao, whom the Raikage targeted, couldn't harm them.
But the Raikage's sudden appearance at the northern border meant something unexpected had occurred in the past week.
And it must be related to Li Yao.
Thinking back on the cruel tortures he had imposed on Li Yao—
Li Yao wouldn't kill his son lightly.
Only Li Yao would be cruel enough to do this to his son.
The enraged Third ignored why Li Yao was so sure Tenchu was his son.
It no longer mattered.
The Third was trapped in endless regret, certain Li Yao was responsible.
He should have used the Reverse Summoning Technique earlier.
"Clan Leader…"
"Clan Leader…"
Outside the estate, Sarutobi clan ninja hurried toward the scene, all anxious and worried.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Third Hokage—and the greatest protector of their clan's interests.
If anything happened to him, their clan would not only decline but lose most of their accumulated wealth.
No one wanted that.
So when the clan ninja heard the roaring aura from the estate's backyard and thought enemies were attacking, they rushed in panic.
But before they reached the backyard, the Third's furious roar stopped them cold.
"Get out!!"
The Third was like a mother lion guarding her injured cub—he wouldn't let anyone see the terrible state of his son.
The ANBU ninja stiffened, pupils shrinking, sweating cold sweat all over.
They realized they had seen something they shouldn't.
Although they quickly looked away, Tenchu and Ayase's enticing forms were burned into their minds.
"Go out."
The Third did not trouble the ANBU ninja—after all, they were his direct guards and some things he couldn't hide from them.
"Yes."
The ANBU breathed a sigh of relief and left the backyard immediately.
(END CHAPTER)
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